Amnesia Trap (GL) - Chapter 7
The washed cherries were plump and glossy red. After feeding her, Ji Qingfan didn’t move her hand away, and Sheng Zhi very naturally spit the cherry pit into her palm. Ji Qingfan showed no sign of impatience, only gently and warmly asking if she wanted more to eat.
—Compared to the previous icy atmosphere, they now truly looked like an intimate and loving married couple.
Upon seeing this scene, Ms. Sheng Xiyi felt nothing but relief.
However, Jiang Wanyin’s expression was significantly more frozen.
After a moment’s pause, Jiang Wanyin called Sheng Zhi’s name: “I want to spend some time alone with you.”
Sheng Zhi lazily raised her eyes.
She had genuinely been trying to make things difficult for Ji Qingfan at first, but she hadn’t expected Ji Qingfan to completely accept all the challenges and take such good care of her. It was as if Ji Qingfan knew exactly what she wanted just by her lifting an eye.
She felt like a cat whose fur was being stroked—so comfortable that she didn’t even want to move.
Although she didn’t know why Jiang Wanyin suddenly wanted to be alone with her, Sheng Zhi also had a few things she wanted to say to her.
She looked at Jiang Wanyin, but just as she was about to speak, she felt another cherry gently nudge its way onto her lips and slide in. At the same time, Ji Qingfan responded with a cheerful smile: “Why not just say it here? Is there something I shouldn’t hear?”
Jiang Wanyin glanced at her, then smiled as well, stating frankly: “Yes, this is for Zhi Zhi’s ears only. Of course, you can’t hear it.”
Their eyes met. Both were smiling, yet the atmosphere was inexplicably awkward.
Sheng Zhi hesitated but first ate the cherry in her mouth, then casually grabbed a tissue from the bedside table, spat the pit into it, wrapped it up, and tossed it into the trash can: “It’s fine, I have something I want to talk to Sister Wanyin about too. Mom, you should go out first. Don’t worry too much about me, I already feel much better.”
The distinction between those close and those distant seemed to become starkly clear at this moment.
Ji Qingfan listened to her words, her gaze following the trajectory of the crumpled tissue Sheng Zhi threw, only withdrawing her attention when the paper ball landed in the trash can.
For a moment, her eyes surged with emotion, but it was only a blink. She quickly masked it, replacing it with a light, nonchalant smile: “Is that so? Then I’ll go out with Mother as well.”
The ward door opened and closed.
This time, Ji Qingfan was not left in the room.
Jiang Wanyin had said she wanted to talk to Sheng Zhi alone, but after everyone left, she didn’t speak immediately. Instead, she looked at the bowl of cleanly washed cherries placed to the side.
She picked one up and put it in her mouth.
Anyone with eyes could see that these cherries were of excellent quality, not to mention after biting into one—a burst of sweet juice, the flesh plump, and the pit small.
Jiang Wanyin slowly ate one: “Tsk, so sour.”
Sheng Zhi was speechless and rolled her eyes at her: “Then don’t eat it. Say what you have to say, quickly.”
“You’re so heartless. In front of Auntie Sheng, it’s ‘Sister Wanyin’, but in private, it’s just ‘you’.” Jiang Wanyin spat out the pit. Seeing Sheng Zhi’s face darken, she mischievously picked up another cherry, raising her hands in a gesture of surrender. However, this time she didn’t eat the cherry, just twirled it in her hand.
Her expression became slightly more serious: “Everything I say next is serious, Miss Sheng. I’m not trying to be difficult, but do you really believe Ji Qingfan’s claim that you two are ‘very much in love’? She can really spin a tale. Your relationship was so bad, yet she can just blurt that out.”
Sheng Zhi’s first thought, when Jiang Wanyin said she wanted to talk to her alone, was that she was going to tell her the truth.
“But I know,” Sheng Zhi met Jiang Wanyin’s surprised gaze and repeated carelessly, “I know she’s lying to me. Don’t you think her acting is quite amusing?”
Hearing Sheng Zhi say this, Jiang Wanyin instantly understood.
She first laughed a little, then couldn’t help but shake her shoulders with laughter: “Well, that’s fine. I really thought you…”
Leaving her sentence unfinished, the implication was clear. Sheng Zhi looked at the cherry still spinning in her hand, snatched it away irritably, and tried to stuff it into Jiang Wanyin’s mouth: “You really have a silver tongue that only speaks nonsense.”
Jiang Wanyin laughed even harder, clamping her mouth shut to prevent her from putting it in.
Unable to force it in, Sheng Zhi simply switched tactics and tickled her on her waist, asking playfully: “Open your mouth? Open your mouth?”
Jiang Wanyin dodged while fighting back, and the blanket on the hospital bed ended up on the floor.
“Click—”
Just as they were in the midst of the playful chaos, Ji Qingfan opened the door.
Sheng Zhi looked up, as if sensing something, and met Ji Qingfan’s gaze perfectly.
For a fleeting moment, the emotion swirling in Ji Qingfan’s eyes unnerved her inexplicably, but in the blink of an eye, that emotion was gone, making her think it was just an illusion.
“Mother was tired after the trip, so I asked her to go back and rest first. I just came to let you know.” Ji Qingfan said, walking slowly towards them. She glanced at the blanket on the floor, then fixed her light gaze on Jiang Wanyin.
“Miss Jiang, Zhi Zhi’s concussion hasn’t healed yet, and strenuous activity is cautioned against. I know you didn’t mean any harm, but no matter what, you shouldn’t interfere with her recovery, should you agree?”
Her words were calm but very cutting.
Sheng Zhi wanted to deny it when she heard her say that, but Jiang Wanyin, uncharacteristically, didn’t retort. She got off the bed, picked up the blanket, and put it aside, asking anxiously: “Zhi Zhi, I didn’t think about it. Do you feel unwell now? I didn’t mean to bother you.”
Sheng Zhi was a bit taken aback.
She and Jiang Wanyin had argued their whole lives and had no problem trading insults, but this reaction made her unsure how to reply.
Sheng Zhi said, “I’m fine, you…”
But before she could finish the words “you don’t have to be like this,” Ji Qingfan interrupted.
“Now that your conversation is finished, Miss Jiang should leave early and let Zhi Zhi get some rest.”
If her previous words were relatively subtle, this time they were a direct dismissal.
Sheng Zhi couldn’t help but frown: “Ji Qingfan!”
Hearing her raised voice, Ji Qingfan looked at her, her eyes harmless, and said softly: “Am I wrong?”
Jiang Wanyin realized something then. She silently gritted her teeth at Ji Qingfan, but when she turned back to Sheng Zhi, her cheerful expression instantly returned. She winked at her: “It’s fine, Zhi Zhi. I’ll leave now. If you feel bad, you can treat me to a meal.”
After the jest, Jiang Wanyin sighed, “Just don’t start a fight because of me. I’ll come back to see you tomorrow.”
She said that and left, looking like she didn’t want to make things difficult for Sheng Zhi.
Once Jiang Wanyin was gone, Sheng Zhi couldn’t even bother to keep up the act. Her expression towards Ji Qingfan was distinctly worse. Her cat eyes were wide with anger, and she questioned: “Ji Qingfan, are you doing this on purpose?”
Hearing her accusation, Ji Qingfan actually laughed softly.
The blanket, having fallen to the floor, was now placed on the other side. Besides Sheng Zhi, the bed was empty save for a pillow.
Ji Qingfan gently approached, hugged her waist, and whispered, her breath like orchids: “Yes, I am doing this on purpose.”
“I’m jealous that Zhi Zhi and Jiang Wanyin are so close. I’m jealous that you call her ‘Sister Wanyin’ but are so cold to me. I’m jealous that she can touch you so carelessly, while my contact with you has a limit that I cannot cross…”
Ji Qingfan lowered her eyelashes, concealing the intense possessiveness in her eyes, leaving only a pitiful tone.
“What should I do? I’m so jealous. Could Zhi Zhi have some pity on me too?”
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